Short Ships Make A Big Splash In State Version Of `Taller' Parade

Short Ships Make Big Splash In Parade

Young women wearing American Indian headdresses playfully yelp and bang tomtoms. Island dancers dressed in yellow and red shake maracas.

Pirates make a victim walk the plank of the 80 vessels that participated in the first-ever boat parade along the 12-mile stretch of the Connecticut River between East Haddam and Old Saybrook.

The three-hour "Short Ships" parade, as it was called, was intended to celebrate the state's many cultures and the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' discovery of America. But more than anything, it was a small-scale, wacky version of the tall ships parade in New York and Boston.

Case in point: the spaghetti boat.

The Italian-styled boat called Caper had a giant, redandwhitechecked tablecloth over the top of its cabin. On top sat a bigger-than-life plate of spaghetti with three huge meatballs.

"Imaginations are endless," said Ray Bovich, director of the Connecticut Marine Trades Association, which organized the event. He said he was overwhelmed by the success of the parade, which won't be an annual event.

Shennanigans, owned by John and Linda Reilly, was one of two Irish-flavor boats. Its occupants wore green and waved shamrocks as it passed the "review stand," a chartered boat called Sweptaway that carried organizers and judges.

The island dancers with maracas, on a boat called Rum Runner, were followed by a boat with hula dancers who gently bounced their arms to the left and right. Ivylike plants were draped over parts of the boat, called Dead Eye Dick's.

The pirate ship, called Butterfly, had captives, and the Indian boat, White Cap, looked like it was looking for some. A sign on the port side of the boat stated, "haircuts, 25 cents; scalps, free."

One of the most unusual -- or untimely -- boats was Bob's Toy, otherwise known as Santa's Raft and the Yule Tide. The boat had a Christmas tree and wreaths with blinking white lights.

Its passengers shouted "Ho Ho Ho" and "Merry Christmas" to those on Sweptaway. Bubbles flew from a wand held by Santa Claus,

clad in a white shirt, red pants and a white wig.

Earlier, Tanya Paul, 8, noticed that something was wrong with Santa as she watched the boats prepare for the parade in East Haddam.

"Santa Claus doesn't have a beard!" she cried. "He must have shaved it."

Like most parades, this one was not without music. Some boats had full-fledged bands. One of the boats, Flora, looked like a tugboat. As it drifted over the water, belching smoke, its band played Dixieland jazz.

And the strains of bagpipe music played by John Spencer of Scotland, Conn., drifted from a research boat owned by the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The parade got good reviews from spectators and participants.

"Considering it's a first effort, they're doing a marvelous job," said Everett Hoffman of Haddam. He watched the boats in East Haddam as they slowly filed into a line and headed south.

Dwight Merriam, who piloted his boat, Oriana, said the event was a good way to take advantage of the river's recreational opportunities. He works with Robinson & Cole, the general counsel for the marine trade association.

Even those who planned the international tall ships event seemed to enjoy the parade.

Bill Bergquist, who was president of Operation Sail in New York, said he and his wife, Sharon, decided to come along after they read about it in a local newspaper.

He admitted that participants in tall ships may not have had as great a time as some in Saturday's parade.